Trading the FTSE and the Dow Jones With City Index

Financial trading technology and techniques are constantly evolving, but some things don't change. As Joshua Raymond of City Index (http://www.cityindex.co.uk/) explains, the two most-traded markets in financial spread betting continue to be the FTSE 100 Index and the Dow Jones Index.

Chief Market Strategist Mr. Raymond states: "[The FTSE and Dow Jones] attract a high majority of all trading volumes. This is because they are volatile enough to create opportunities, but are also a much more diversified bet as they track a number of equities weighted together."

So what exactly are the FTSE 100 and the Dow Jones?

FTSE 100

As London is the financial centre of Europe, the UK 100 is seen as Europe's most important index. The FTSE 100 represents around 80% of the London Stock Exchange's market capital and is a compilation of the UK's 100 highest stocks. Trading hours fall between 08:00 and 16:30 GMT.

Dow Jones

The Dow Jones Index is a share index of 30 large publicly owned companies. Unlike the FTSE 100, the Dow Jones always features the same 30 companies, which is something to bear in mind when analysing the markets. Trading opens at 14:30 and closes at 21:00 GMT.

Spread betting and CFD trading are leveraged products which can result in losses greater than your initial deposit. Ensure you fully understand the risks.

About City Index:

Today more and more individual traders are discovering the benefits of derivatives, and many of them are discovering them through a City Index trading platform.

As a group, we transact in excess of 1.5 million trades every month for individuals in over 50 countries worldwide. We provide access to a wide range of instruments including margined foreign exchange, CFD trading and, in the UK, spread betting.